REVIEW: Swords of Sorrow: Dejah Thoris & Irene Adler #2 (of 3)

At last! After a couple of misfires, the ongoing tie-ins to Dynamite’s crossover are back on track. Things continue from the last issue which saw both leads switch places, with Dejah now in Victorian London and Irene sequestered on Mars. With this set up, the story pretty much turns into a fish out of water tale. What is a surprise, is how much fun this issue is.

Off the bat, we have how Dejah deals with the attentions, which to be fair you would expect her to receive dressed in her Mars outfit, from the less than gentlemanly gentlemen of London. Despite winning the altercation, Dejah does change into something more suitable, but its with the intention of staying dry and warm rather than apologising for how she looks. This is definitely a sign of a strong character. Meanwhile, Irene is also finding out about her new environs and looks to find a way back to earth.

Leah Moore has certainly upped her game with this issue, moving away from setup dialogue and instead, revels in the dialogue between the leads and their respective new cohorts. I thoroughly enjoyed Dejah in London. It is easy to mistake Dejah as less than capable, whether that’s is due to her normal outfits or her dependence on John Carter. I am very glad that the character has found a place that shows her strength, although it is a tad disappointing she is not this capable in her own book. Irene , on the other hand, seems more at ease, as you would probably expect from someone who is at a similar intellectual level as Sherlock Holmes.

Francesco Manna’s art is also an improvement on last issue. Gone are the foggy background and in there place are the environs which seem more alive with the new interactions from both leads. Manna’s lines are clean and help convey the agitation felt by Dejah and the lack of real surprise from Irene.

Regular readers will know that I am quite enjoying my foray into the female heroes of the Dynamite universe via the main issues. I still have a problem with the how and why some of these tie-ins are meant to actually tie-in to the main story, other than pairing the characters prior to the collective get together that will no doubt be required to rid the world of the big bad. If that’s the case, the main story may not have space or time to show how these characters have interacted prior to the concluding meeting. This then seems to be a tad ironic that at least in this mini series to date, Dejah and Irene haven’t spent that much time actually together.

Still, the improvements in this issue are a welcome relief and with my interest re-piqued, I am totally on board for the concluding issue.

About The Author

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70’s. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, Green Lanterns and current The Definitive Crusader Jeopardy leader!

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